UConn Pours It On In Second Half To Defeat East Carolina

GREENVILLE, N.C. – It may have been the shortest halftime talk in UConn history. The Huskies, trailing by nine, were back on the floor within four minutes.

"I said enough, let's leave it at that," coach Kevin Ollie said. "And they took it and ran with it."

The Huskies were exhorted to play tougher, to stop gunning three-point shots, and Daniel Hamilton was told to stop allowing his man to get behind him.

"It wasn't pretty," Rodney Purvis said. "[Ollie] almost broke his hand beating up the board, screaming. But we deserved it. We were sleeping on defense in the first half, and I guess he wanted to wake us up."

Speeches can do so much. The Huskies were out on the floor shooting by themselves about 10 minutes after the short halftime meeting, an unusual scene. They also had Amida Brimah, limited by foul trouble to six minutes in the first half, coming back on the floor for the start of the second half, and they took control of this road game, beating East Carolina 60-49 in American Athletic Conference men's basketball.

Highlights from UConn's victory over East Carolina Wednesday night. The Huskies won 60-49 on the road.

Highlights from UConn's victory over East Carolina Wednesday night. The Huskies won 60-49 on the road.

"They went out and performed," Ollie said, "and played tough basketball. That's all I wanted. [ECU was] getting layup after layup."

East Carolina (12-16, 5-10 AAC) had won 11 of 14 home games coming in, and drew 6,856 to Williams Arena, by far the largest crowd of the season. The Pirates specialize in three-point shots, but in the first half, after Brimah went out, they ate UConn alive in the paint, outscoring the Huskies 22-6. Making precise cuts to the basket, they were 13-for-28 from the floor.

"He just kept it sweet and short," Hamilton said of Ollie's speech. "He got after me the most, he just told me to not let my man behind me. My man was back-cutting me and they were getting easy layups."

Purvis, from Raleigh, about 90 minutes from Greenville, originally went to NC State, then transferred to UConn and, for some reason, some folks in North Carolina resent it. Though Purvis had about...

GREENVILLE, N.C. – It was a happy homecoming for Rodney Purvis, though not always a pleasant one.

Purvis, from Raleigh, about 90 minutes from Greenville, originally went to NC State, then transferred to UConn and, for some reason, some folks in North Carolina resent it. Though Purvis had about...

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With Brimah on the floor 10 minutes, between his second and third foul, the Huskies outscored ECU 19-5 to take control. Hamilton, who didn't score in the first half, finished with nine points, plus five assists and 17 rebounds, the most in a game by a Husky since Alex Oriakhi in the 2011 Big East Tournament.

Brimah, who had 12 points and six blocks, fouled out with 1:54 to play and UConn ahead by five. "He's our rim protector," Ryan Boatright said. "Even if he's not blocking the shot, he's altering the shot.

After Brimah left, Boatright and Terrence Samuel went 6-for-6 from the line during the final minute as the Huskies (16-11, 9-6) closed it out.

"We showed some poise, man, some composure," said Boatright, who scored 16 to lead UConn. "We didn't break, didn't crack when we made some mistakes."

UConn, meanwhile, was 3-for-14 on three-pointers in the first half. Hamilton, Omar Calhoun and Rodney Purvis were a combined 1-for-15 as East Carolina, with a 13-1 spurt midway through the half, took a 33-24 lead into the break.

Boatright was the only productive shooter for UConn in the first half. Hamilton began attacking the rim and scored twice to start the second half, as UConn quickly cut its deficit to five. Brimah scored on a throw down, and again on a hook shot following an offensive rebound to put the Huskies in front, 36-35, with 13:22 left. The Pirates had two points in eight minutes before Lance Tejada hit a three to tie the game, 38-38.

Purvis, from Raleigh, N.C., was a target of the crowd, because he left NC State to play at UConn. But he hit three crucial three-point goals in the second half to help the Huskies pull away. His three from the left wing gave UConn the lead for good, 41-38, with 10:46 to go.

"My teammates kept feeding me and my coach told me to keep shooting the ball," said Purvis, who finished with 12 points. "I was just happy I was able to make some shots and get our offensive going a little bit."

East Carolina scored only 16 points in the second half, going 6-for-31 from the floor. Marshall Guilmette, who had 13 points and seven rebounds, hurt UConn inside while Brimah was out, but Guilmette eventually got into foul trouble also. The Pirates' three-point game, 3-for-20, was shut down. B.J. Tyson scored 11, but went 4-for-12 from the floor.

UConn, 4-6 on the road, had a rough time getting to Greenville, which got snow and ice on Tuesday. The team had to land in Raleigh and take a bus, getting in late. And UConn was trying to beat another storm out of town after the game. The final three regular season games are against teams ahead of them in the AAC standings, starting with first-place Southern Methodist on Sunday at the XL Center.

"It's huge," Ollie said. "[East Carolina] has been playing very, very well at home, we got here late last night, but no excuses. Now, we want to get out of here before it snows."